Untitled Flashcards Set

Mestizo - A term referring to people in Mexico who have both indigenous and European ancestry.

Amerindian - A term that combines American and Indian and refers to indigenous people in North and South America.

Indigenous groups - Groups of people who settled a land first, before anybody else. Indigenous groups in Mexico include the Maya and the Nahua.

Maquiladoras - Factories that are usually located near the US-Mexico border and take imported materials to make goods or services that are then exported.

Coup d’etat - A sudden, forceful, and violent overthrow of the current government, usually by the military.

Anticlericalism - Opposition to the church having power or influence in politics. The 1917 Mexican Constitution severely restricted the church’s power in regards to politics or the state.

Ejidos - President Lázaro Cárdenas, who was president from 1934 to 1940, enacted the land reform that the Constitution of 1917 called for using grants of land called ejidos. Cárdenas gave land grants to 180,000 peasant communities, with a total of 750,000 Mexicans receiving land.

Ejidatarios - Ejidatarios are Mexicans who use the ejidos given by the government for agriculture.

Clientelism - A system in which political parties give benefits to people in exchange for their votes.

NAFTA - A trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico that promoted free trade between the three countries as well as eliminated trade barriers such as tariffs.

Zapatista Uprising - An armed rebellion against the Mexican government in the state of Chiapas. The Zapatistas were fighting for indigenous rights, and opposed neoliberal policies.

NICs (New Industrialized Countries) - NICs refer to countries that have experienced high economic growth and are close to becoming developed countries. Mexico is an example of a new industrialized country, as it is not fully developed but has experienced economic growth over the last few decades.

Corporatist state - A term referring to a state that uses a corporatist system in which there are a few main interest groups that influence the government’s policies. Mexico has been transitioning from a corporatist system to a pluralist system with more open competition between interest groups.

Civil Society - Civil society refers to the level of citizen participation, organizations outside of the government that provide participation & advance interests, and social movements. There are threats to civil society in Mexico, including violence/murders of journalists and government corruption.

State capitalism - State capitalism is a term sometimes used for mercantilism because of the high government control of industries and businesses. Additionally, both state capitalism and mercantilism emphasize protectionism and high tariffs.

ISI - ISI stands for Import Substitution Industrialization; it refers to the economic policy promoted by the PRI in which Mexico’s industrialization would be encouraged through high tariffs to protect Mexican industries.

Green revolution - The Green Revolution was a period of agricultural innovation that caused Mexico’s crop yields to dramatically increase. The changes included mechanization, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. Additionally, hybrid seeds that resulted in higher yields were developed through cross-breeding.

Informal sector - The informal sector refers to the unregulated sector of the economy, including the underground economy or black market. Over a quarter of the Mexican labor force is estimated to be involved in the informal sector. The informal sector accounts for around 13 percent of Mexico’s GDP.

PR - PR, or proportional representation, is an electoral system in which political parties get a certain amount of seats based on their percentage of the popular vote. In the Mexican Chamber of Deputies (lower house), 200 out of the 500 deputies are elected through PR. In the Mexican Senate (upper house), 32 senators out of 128 total are elected through PR.

Sexenio - A sexenio refers to the six-year term that Mexican presidents stay in office for. A person can only be president for one sexenio, and cannot be re-elected after one six-year term.

National Electoral Institute (INE) - The INE replaced the Federal Electoral Institute (created in 1990) in 2014 as a result of electoral reforms enacted by President Peña Nieto.

Technocrats - Government officials who hold office based on their expertise, skill, or merit.

Parastatal - Parastatals are industries that are partially or fully owned by the government. A notable parastatal in Mexico is PEMEX, a nationalized oil company.

Accommodation - Accommodation refers to the government accommodating some policy proposals pushed for by social movements.

PRI - The PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional), or the Institutional Revolutionary Party, was established in 1929 by President Plutarco Elías Calles to unite everyone who supported the revolution. The PRI stayed in power from 1929 to 2000. In 2000, a non-PRI candidate (PAN) was elected president, ending the PRI’s control of the government.

PAN - The PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) was formed in opposition to the PRI’s dominance. In 2000, as a result of electoral reform and a more fair election, a PAN candidate (Vicente Fox) was elected president.

PRD - The PRD (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) is a left-leaning political party that supports social democracy.

AMLO - AMLO is a nickname for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He is highly popular among the Mexican population. He is part of the Morena party, which supports social programs and protectionism.

Constitution of 1917 - The Constitution of 1917 was written by middle-class mestizos who suffered during Porfirio Díaz’s rule. The constitution included strict measures to reduce the power of the Catholic Church. It also adopted federalism, as well as prevented presidents, governors, mayors, and federal legislators from reelection. Finally, it called for land reform.

Federal Electoral Institute - in 1996, the PRI gave in to public pressure to enact electoral reform and created an independent Federal Electoral Institute that would ensure free and fair electors. Later, President Peña Nieto would reform the Federal Electoral Institute with the support of PAN.

Municipios - A municipio refers to smaller, divided-up sections of the 31 Mexican states, and is essentially a county or municipality.

Patron Client Relationship - A system in politics in which political parties give jobs or rewards to people who agree to support or vote for their party.

Camarillas - Refers to vast informal networks of loyalty between politicians. Camarillas are associated with patronage and corruption.

CTM - CTM, or the Confederation of Mexico Workers, was created by the PRI as a labor union, and is one of the largest labor unions in the country. The CTM is one of the main supporters of the PRI.

Televisa - Mexican media is controlled by two main media companies: Televisa and TV Azteca. Televisa is one of the largest Spanish media companies in the world. Notably, Televisa was linked to the PRI in the past.

IRCA - The IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act) was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1986 and placed punishments on businesses employing undocumented immigrants and increased & strengthened enforcement of immigration laws. The act also gave legal status to undocumented workers who had lived long enough in the U.S., and as result, legalized around 2.3 million Mexican immigrants.

PEMEX - A nationalized oil company that is fully owned by the Mexican government.